4 compound noun worksheets - ESL Vault - Free Printable

Let’s go through each pair of pictures and think about what compound noun they make.

A compound noun is when two words are put together to make a new word with its own meaning — like “butterfly” or “earring”.

We’ll look at each row, left to right:

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Row 1:
- First picture: butter + knife → butterknife
- Second picture: fly (insect) → but wait, it’s paired with nothing? No — actually, looking again: the first box has two images: butter on a wrapper and a knife → that’s “butterknife”. The second box in row 1 is an ear and a ring → that’s “earring”.

Wait — let me recheck the layout.

Actually, the worksheet shows pairs side by side. Each *pair* of images makes one compound noun.

So:

✔ Row 1, Pair 1: Butter + Knife = Butterknife
✔ Row 1, Pair 2: Ear + Ring = Earring

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Row 2:
- Pan + Cake = Pancake
- Light + House = Lighthouse

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Row 3:
- Sun + Flower = Sunflower
- Wave + Lion? Wait — wave and lion doesn’t make sense. Let’s think… maybe “sea lion”? But there’s no sea shown. Actually, the image is a big wave and a lion — perhaps it’s meant to be “lion” as in “mountain lion”? Hmm.

Wait — maybe I misread. Let’s look again.

Actually, in Row 3:
Left: sun + tulip? No — it’s sun and flower → sunflower ✔️
Right: wave + lion → could it be “sea lion”? Even though there’s no ocean drawn, the wave implies sea → so Sea Lion

Yes, that works.

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Row 4:
- High heel shoe + ball → not obvious. Wait — high heel is “heel”, ball is “ball” → “heelball”? No. Maybe “high ball”? Not quite.

Wait — maybe it’s “beach ball”? But the shoe isn’t beach-related.

Hold on — perhaps the shoe is just “shoe”, and the ball is “ball” → “shoe ball”? Doesn’t exist.

Alternative idea: maybe the shoe is a “stiletto” and the ball is a “soccer ball”? Still not helping.

Wait — let’s think differently. Maybe the shoe represents “foot” and the ball is “ball” → “football”? That’s possible! Because football uses feet and a ball.

But the shoe is a high heel — not typical for football. Hmm.

Another thought: maybe it’s “volleyball”? No connection to shoe.

Wait — perhaps it’s “basketball”? Still no.

Let me skip and come back.

Next pair in Row 4: shovel + bucket in sand + castle → that’s clearly Sandcastle

So back to shoe + ball — maybe it’s “playground ball”? No.

Wait — what if the shoe is “high” and the ball is “ball” → “high ball”? Like in drinks? Unlikely for kids.

Perhaps it’s “tennis ball” and the shoe is a tennis shoe? But it looks like a high heel.

This is tricky. Let me consider: maybe it’s “soccer ball” and the shoe is cleats? But it’s drawn as a high heel.

Wait — perhaps I’m overcomplicating. Let’s look at common compound nouns taught at this level.

Common ones: basketball, football, volleyball, baseball...

None fit perfectly.

Wait — what if the shoe is “boot” and the ball is “ball” → “bootball”? No.

Alternative: maybe the shoe is “heel” and the ball is “ball” → “heelball”? Not real.

Perhaps it’s “marble” and the shoe is irrelevant? No.

Wait — let’s check online or recall standard worksheets.

Actually, in many ESL worksheets, this pair is often “high heels” and “beach ball” — but that doesn’t combine.

Another idea: maybe it’s “party shoes” and “party ball”? No.

Wait — perhaps it’s “dance ball” and “dance shoes”? Still not a compound noun.

I think I made a mistake earlier. Let me re-express:

Looking at the image again mentally:

Row 4, left: a high-heeled shoe and a colorful beach ball.

What compound noun combines these? Maybe “beach party”? But that’s not from the images directly.

Wait — perhaps it’s not combining the two objects, but each image represents part of the compound noun.

For example, “high” from high heel, and “ball” from ball → “highball” — which is a drink, but also sometimes used in sports? Not really.

Alternatively, “heel” and “ball” — in anatomy, heel and ball of foot — but that’s not a compound noun per se.

This is confusing. Let me try a different approach.

Maybe the shoe is “pump” (as in high heel pump) and the ball is “pumpkin”? No.

Wait — perhaps it’s “soccer” and the shoe is “cleat”, but again, not matching.

Let me move to the last row and come back.

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Row 5:
- Cat + fish circle → cat chasing fish? Or “catfish”? Yes! Cat + fish = Catfish

Even though the fish are in a circle, it’s still representing “fish”, so cat + fish = catfish ✔️

Next: cow + kite → cow and kite? What compound noun? “Cow kite”? No. “Kite flying”? Not compound.

Wait — cow and boy flying kite — perhaps “cowboy”? But where’s the cowboy?

The image is a cow head and a boy flying a kite.

“Cow” + “boy” = Cowboy — even though the boy is flying a kite, he’s still a boy, and cow is there. So yes, Cowboy

That makes sense.

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Now back to Row 4, shoe + ball.

If we have “catfish” and “cowboy”, then shoe + ball must be something similar.

What if the shoe is “high” and the ball is “school”? No.

Wait — another idea: “basketball” — but no basket.

“Volleyball” — no net.

“Football” — as I thought earlier. In American English, football is played with feet, and you wear shoes. So “foot” + “ball” = football.

And the shoe represents “foot” — because you put your foot in a shoe.

Similarly, in some contexts, “shoe” can imply “foot”.

So perhaps it’s Football

That seems plausible for a student worksheet.

Alternatively, “baseball” — but no bat or glove.

I think Football is the best guess here.

Some might say “soccer ball”, but “soccer” isn’t represented.

So I’ll go with Football

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Now let’s list all answers:

Row 1:
- Butterknife
- Earring

Row 2:
- Pancake
- Lighthouse

Row 3:
- Sunflower
- Sea Lion

Row 4:
- Football (assuming shoe represents foot)
- Sandcastle

Row 5:
- Catfish
- Cowboy

Wait — in Row 4, is “football” accurate? Let me double-check.

Perhaps it’s “high ball” — but that’s not common.

Another possibility: “play ball” — not compound.

Or “ball game” — no.

I recall that in some worksheets, this exact image pair is used for “beach ball” and “high heels”, but they don’t form a compound noun together.

Unless... wait a minute!

Perhaps I misinterpreted the pairing.

Looking back at the original description: “Write the word under each picture to make compound nouns”

And the layout: each row has two boxes, each box contains two images.

So for each box, the two images combine to form one compound noun.

So:

Box 1: butter + knife → butterknife
Box 2: ear + ring → earring
Box 3: pan + cake → pancake
Box 4: light + house → lighthouse
Box 5: sun + flower → sunflower
Box 6: wave + lion → sea lion
Box 7: shoe + ball → ?
Box 8: shovel/bucket/sand + castle → sandcastle
Box 9: cat + fish → catfish
Box 10: cow + boy (flying kite) → cowboy

For Box 7: shoe + ball

What if the shoe is “tennis shoe” and the ball is “tennis ball” → but that’s two separate things.

Perhaps it’s “sports ball” and “sports shoe” — still not combining.

Another idea: “kick ball” — like kickball, a game.

Kickball is a compound noun: kick + ball.

And you kick with your foot, which is in a shoe.

So Kickball could work.

That might be better than football, because kickball specifically involves kicking a ball, and the shoe emphasizes the kicking action.

In elementary schools, kickball is a common game.

So I think Kickball is more accurate here.

Yes, let’s go with that.

Final decision:

Row 4, Box 7: Shoe (representing kick/foot) + Ball = Kickball

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Now compiling all:

1. Butterknife
2. Earring
3. Pancake
4. Lighthouse
5. Sunflower
6. Sea Lion
7. Kickball
8. Sandcastle
9. Catfish
10. Cowboy

Let me write them in order as per the worksheet rows.

The worksheet has 5 rows, each with 2 compound nouns.

So:

Row 1: Butterknife, Earring
Row 2: Pancake, Lighthouse
Row 3: Sunflower, Sea Lion
Row 4: Kickball, Sandcastle
Row 5: Catfish, Cowboy

Yes.

I think that’s correct.

Final Answer:
Butterknife, Earring, Pancake, Lighthouse, Sunflower, Sea Lion, Kickball, Sandcastle, Catfish, Cowboy